Amy Morrison Portfolio

M.ARCHAMY MORRISON

FALL 2015

with a Concentration in Ecological Design

ART JOURNALThis art journal has become a self-led project inspired by the work of Dan Eldon, a photojournalist who was killed on assignment. This project has been ongoing since high school. I make regular entries in that are mostly comprised of quick visceral sketches, studies, concepts, ideas, catchy lyrics and graphics. It is my preferred way to process an idea or concept, as I find myself thinking in pictures. This project shows my personal experiments with balances of composition, graphic representation, color combinations, technical drawing and painting skills.

Media used Acrylics, Charcoal, Collaging, Colored Pencil, Pastel, Watercolor

LIGHT & VOLUME STUDYThis Light and Volume study was the final project for Design Fundamentals 2. The objective was to combine my previous cardboard slicer model with my partner’s, and then use elements of each other’s work to create 4 inhabitable spaces, and four connecting spaces (ei. stairs, passageways) and 2 exterior access point for light in order to create a sublime experience. We chose to create a sublime experience by intentionally designing spaces that skimmed the edges of the human scale. I specifically worked on editing the initial model in SketchUp, exporting this model to work on the line work in Illustrator, creating an isometric view of the overall mass of the interior spaces and a plan view section cut that went through all four of the interior chambers we specified, and creating scale-drawings of human interaction with the space. The plan view acted as a canvas for texture, light and shadow to be projected in the interior spaces which I sourced and designed.

Skills used SketchUp, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Conceptual Collaging.

AMY LONGSTAFF & KYNDRA ROTHJELLYFISH DRAWINGTA: ELISE HANSEN

AMY LONGSTAFF & KYNDRA ROTHPERSPECTIVE SECTION CUT

TA: ELISE HANSEN

0” 1”

Scale - 1” = 1”

0’ 8’

TECHNICAL & VALUE DRAWINGSThese drawings are part of an intensive study I undertook as a final assignment for architectural hand drawing. I was fortunate to be a part of the section under Andrzej Piotrowski, who started the class at University of Minnesota. The assignment was open ended, and involved studying one space within our architecture building on campus, simply analyzing a space by repetitively drawing the surrounding area. We were instructed to pay close attention to what was catching our eyes, and continue to explore that aspect to present final value and technical drawings for the final class assignment. As I conducted my drawings, I began to realize that I was focusing on the effect of very bright natural light that was coming in through frosted panels and playing with the light gradients cast on the concrete. Through a series of hybrid drawings, I composed a final value drawing that focused on the furthest, most contrast rich corner of this space, and how the source light highlighted the surfaces of concrete. My final technical drawing placed the concrete in the forefront of the composition, with the hidden, untouched areas shown through the wall with a light line weight. This project trained my eye for light gradients, taught me the importance of quality of light in a space, and was a great exercise in precise drawings based on measurements.

Skills used Technical Hand Drawing, Hybrid Drawing, Tonal & Value drawings.

KUMIKI BUILDING SYSTEM

Skills used SketchUp, Woodworking, Adobe Illustrator.

For this project, my “Wood and Material Limits” class was posed with the task of creating a system of building based on a wood joint. The goal was to use a way of joining wood and implement it in a full scale building project. I did research on the ancient Japanese art of kumiki, a six-peice wood puzzle logic game. I used this way of joining wood, mastered the techniques of creating the puzzle by studying the 6 unique notch shapes used to connect the pieces, and explored the alteration of this original joint so that it could be used on a larger scale. Through this project, I wrestled with the idea of building in systems, and altering systems to meet the demands of a building (including unique corners, load bearing and construction). The bottom right shows my side project where I attemtped to introduce acute and obtuse corners to the building logic in SketchUp

BUTLER SQUAREThis semester long research project is a diagrammatical analysis of a LEED certified building, allowing students to explore the visual representation of data and key concepts regarding LEED Certification. My partner and I picked Butler Square in Minneapolis, a historical renovation project with O&M LEED Silver Certification. For my part in the research, I researched the archived plans of Butler Square, took pictures and built diagrams in Illustrator based off of these pictures to show the interior sky lighting effects that took pressure off of electricity. I also designed an icon-based diagram in Illustrator to show the average amount of construction waste (in tons) produced by demolition, new construction and Butler Square’s renovation. My biggest contribution for this project was the transportation diagram (bottom right, opposing page), a socially conducted part of Butler Square’s LEED Certification that encouraged the use of alternative transportation such as busing, biking, carpooling, and skyway alternatives. Finally, I created a table showing the points earned in each area of the project. The project was presented in poster form. Through this project, I was able to conceptualize the portrayal of data and information in a accessible visual presentation.

Skills used Adobe Illustrator, Diagramming, Research.

Design ProcessText Goes Herer

Foodtext

SocialText

Green EconomicsText

Innovationtext

Third-Party Certi�cationText

Ventilationtext

Air FiltrationText

Butler Square

1st Ave

2nd Ave

Hennepin Ave

Nicolle

t Mall7th St N

6th St N

5th St N

4th St N

7th St S

6th St S

4th St S

5th St S

- Skyways - Bike Routes - Bus Routes - Lightrail M

ap K

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Butler Square is connected to the city-wide skyway system in downtown minnespolia. This allows employees to walk frm building to building in down-

town without facing the winter’s cold weather. The Skyway links employees at Butler square to Lifetime �tness, nicollet

Mall and the Target Center

Easy bike access allows employees to opt for an environmentally-friendly commute into work. Bike racks and Lifetime Fitness’s free shower and storage also encourages employees to take advantage of the bike-accessible site.

Located just a block away from the Lightrail, employees of Butler Square are a�orded the option to commute to work with zero emmision.

Located on the 16, 6, and 3 bus routes, Butler square is in a prime location to take advantage of the pre-existing transit system in dowtown Minneapolis. Employ-ees can be dropped o� in front of or just a block away from the 1st Ave front entrance.

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ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION | MOISTURE CONTROL |Part of Butler Square’s newest renovations involved tuckpointing the exterior brick n order to reinforce the building envelop and proetect against the cold

GENERAL STORE Butler Square has a conveniently located sundries store where you can purchase a snack, greeting cards or leave items for dry cleaning. The store also carries some items for little "emergencies", over the counter medications, and inexpensive gift items.

Butler Square has a Quarter Loop Station with FULL POSTAL SERVICEservices which also includes post o�ce box facilities.

CRADLE CLUB CHILDCARE The child care facility located in Butler Square has a secure, comfortable environment as well as state-of-the-art learning apparatus. It is the only major child care facility available in the Warehouse District.

THE ALLEY SPORTS TAVERN downtown's premier sports bar with -over 30 large TV's, private banquet room seating for 65, and on warm summer nights outdoor dining in the alley patio. It is an excellent place to gather before a concert, sports event, or just a night out in Minneapolis. The Alley Sports Tavern has great food, service, and is close to other Minneapolis night clubs and bars.

KOKAPELLI a deli-style menu for both breakfast and lunch.

�oorplan showing amenities

window section with air�ow

URBAN DESIGN AND TRANSPORTATION INDOOR AIR QUALITY

OTHER SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES

Butler Square

THE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT

1st Ave

2nd Ave

Hennepin Ave

Nicolle

t Mall7th St N

6th St N

5th St N

4th St N

7th St S

6th St S

4th St S

BUTLER SQUARE

CONTEXT

5th St S5th St S5th St S

Butler Square is connected to the city-wide skyway system in downtown minnespolia. This allows employees to walk frm building to building in down-town without facing the winter’s cold weather. The Skyway links employees at Butler square to Lifetime �tness, nicollet Mall and the Target Center

Easy bike access allows employees to opt for an environmentally-friendly commute into work. Bike racks and Lifetime Fitness’s free shower and storage also encourages employees to take advantage of the bike-accessible site.

Located just a block away from the Lightrail, employees of Butler Square are a�orded the option to commute to work with zero emmision.

Located on the 16, 6, and 3 bus routes, Butler square is in a prime location to take advantage of the pre-existing transit system in dowtown Minneapolis. Employ-ees can be dropped o� in front of or just a block away from the 1st Ave front entrance.

Skills used Hand Drawing, SketchUp, Laser cutting.

I completed this project in my final semester of undergrad, and was overjoyed with the task of using modular thought and systems thinking to create a new project. I went through several iterations of a module that I hoped would be scalable and multipurpose incorporating sorting, sitting, and space dividing. After coming up with the “R” shape, I plugged my measurements into SketchUp, and used the faces that were created to laser cut a sheet of plexiglass and then used these plexiglass 2D forms to create the 3D shape. I chose to not specify a scale, intending to show the multiple uses for this module. I also wanted to play with the idea of color and passage through the object, so the final model has strategically missing panels, and each key face was painted with a primary color in acrylic. The doodles on the far left show some ways of combining multiple base units together to create different forms for walls, organization, etc.

MODULAR THOUGHT

COMFORT FIT EARBUDS

Skills used Rhino, 3D Printing, Sketching, Moulding.

This project was completed in a class called “Design in the Public Sector” taught by Ali Heshmati and Darin Duch. The goal of the assignment was to create a “body prop” on a small scale. I took the opportunity in this project to use the newly bought 3D printer in the architecture department, and as a chance to brush up on my 3D modeling skills in Rhino. At first, I attempted to model my own ear using a program called 123D. However, based on my limited timeframe, I expedited the process by sourcing the ear from the Autodesk website. I used my 3D print of an ear to influence the forming of a new material, Sugru. After researching the precedents in the earbud industry, I determined that my personal goal for the project was to create a process for others to design their own earbuds to fit their ear with simple steps. This project was featured in the AIA Minneapolis Convention exhibiting student work from the University of Minnesota.

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Using the method of cast and mold, create a pair of earbuds that formed around the exterior shape of the ear.

Earbuds attach to the exterior of the ear which is a site of both heat and moisture on the body. The material chosen was Sugru, “a new self-setting rubber for fixing, modifying and improving your stuff.”

iteration #1 iteration #2 iteration #3 [back] iteration #4 [back] final

3D MODEL & PRINT [MOLD]

SUGRU [CASTING MATERIAL]

CAST & MOLD

instructors: Ali Heshmati & Darin DuchARCH 3250-2

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CAST & MOLD

Amy

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SUKKAHAs a midtern assesment for public sector architecture, we were given the task to tackle the human scale in a meaningful jewish structure called a Sukkah. The Sukkah is a religious temporary structure, meant to provide a space for the jewish harvest celebration, Sukkot. There are many symbolic parts to a sukkah that we were challenged to observe or change, but only with good meaning. I first chose my spot within the grounds of the architecture building, a space I had been eyeing for some time. The concept was to create this structure to mimic the inside edges of a interior/exterior volume of space. From this, my partner and I designed the frame and took on the challenge of creating the walls and roof with natural materials. We souced out corn stalks from a local farm, known for their beautiful autumn colors. We then laid tree branches over the top, leaving space for God to enter in, as is custom in traditional Sukkahs. One half of the Sukkah was lavishly laid with corn husks, and the side facing the interior space was left scarce. Our own personal goal was to explore how religion fits within the modern world, shown through scarcity and abundance, modern structure and new materials.

Skills used Woodworking, construction, SketchUp, Illustrator.